The Toughest Challenge Yet
by Hufflepuff519
Summary: The celebration of a birth and remembrance of a lost loved one. Little bit of fluff with some angst.


**A/N: Hey, this is just a hypothetical snapshot of what it would be like for Castle and Beckett to have a kid. Enjoy. Warning: Description of child birth and mention of character death. You may want to grab a tissue. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle. **

" Come on, Kate. One more push. That's it. You're doing great honey."

"Castle, SHUT UP!" Kate shouted this at her husband while in the middle of giving birth to their first child…well, his second, her first.

"Yes dear." Castle, for once did as he was told in order to make his wife happy, or at the very least less stressed in her time of great struggle.

He had seen Kate shake down the toughest criminals New York City had to offer, watched her almost meet her death at the hands of a sniper, and chase down bad guys in four inch heels. However it was at this moment that Richard Castle would see Kate Beckett meet her toughest challenge to date, child birth.

The blood curdling screams he heard expelling from her lungs were perhaps the most horrid sounds he had ever heard. Not because of the sheer decibel of them but because they were coming from the woman he loved and it was almost too much for him to stand. He hated to see her in any pain however he knew this could not be helped at the moment.

"Alright Kate you're almost there," said the doctor as she encouraged Kate to keep it up. "I can see the head. Give us one more big push. That's it." Kate's body seethed once more as the pain racked through her and with one final push Kate felt the child she had been carrying for nine months slip through her pelvic bones and out her, leaving her with nothing more than a dull soreness between her legs. Exhausted, she fell back on the bed.

Kate was breathing so hard she almost couldn't hear it when the doctor announced the birth of her son and looked back up from where she had collapsed against the mattress when she heard her baby cry for the first time.

He was so loud. _Oh, Lord he's going to be just like his father._ The thought crossed Kate's mind for a brief moment, making her smile, but then vanished.

Rick, who had been holding her hand through the whole experience, kissed her forehead.

"Oh Kate, he's beautiful. I love you so much. " Kate looked at him with a grateful expression; happy just to have him there.

"I love you too, Rick. I couldn't have done this without you."

"Don't I know it." said Castle with a mischievous grin on his exuberant face. Kate just rolled her eyes at him, too exhausted to do anything else.

"Kate, would you like to hold your baby?" came the voice of a nurse standing nearby holding the newborn in her arms. Kate nodded.

Kate held her new born son in her arms and beamed with happiness.

"Hello there, little one. We've been waiting for you. Oh, Rick you're right he is beautiful. " Kate's eyes welled up with tears. "Oh, my boy, I love you so much."

The baby squirmed slightly in her arms, scrunching his face up, but then settled down.

"Rick would you like to hold your son?"

"Like you need to ask?"

Castle took the baby into his arms; relishing the moment. Oh, God, he hadn't felt like this since the day Alexis was born. He suddenly remembered what it was like when the realization finally hit him that he was a father. He loved that feeling. It had scared the crap out of him at first but he soon fell into the role he played as a parent. Now, seeing his baby boy now he was so happy that after all he and Kate had been through they finally were allowed this moment to share with one another. The boy had thick hair for a new born; dark brown in color. His eyes weren't open yet but he could tell that once they were it would be hard to get him to close them long enough to allow for sleep. Castle once again smiled at his wife. The mysteries of what women were capable of doing still astonished him to this day. He was so proud of her.

Just then the nurse spoke up once again. "So, do we have a name yet?"

Kate and Rick looked at one another and smiled both knowing what the other was thinking.

"James Richard Castle." They spoke the same time. Kate had expressed her wishes to name the child, if it was boy, after her father, who had lately passed away unexpectedly. It had torn apart Kate's heart knowing that her father had known about the pregnancy but hadn't been around long enough to see the birth of his only grandchild.

Rick had been there, as he always had, after her father's passing. He kept her going. The unborn child inside of her needed her and he had reminded her that she needed to stay strong for the baby.

Now that little James was finally here she felt a great sense of relief and grief that she now felt comfortable releasing. It hit her like a steam engine hurdling down the tracks. At that moment she was more than grateful to have Rick there. He was her rock and without him there she knew she would have surely broken down.

The couple spent the next half hour or so alone with their new son before a nurse came in and insisted that Kate needed to rest. She was right. Kate had been in labor for nearly 16 hours before she even started to deliver. They kissed little James before the nurse put him into the wheeling crib and took from the room to the nursery.

"Would you like me to stick around or leave? I know you would probably like a few hours sleep." Rick asked apprehensively.

"You can stay if you want but either way I'm going to take a nap. I so tired."

"Ok, sweetheart. I am so proud of you and I love you so much." Rick kissed her one more time. "I'm going to leave you alone for a little while. Maybe I'll go home, change my clothes, make a few phone calls. I know everyone is anxious to hear about this. My mother with probably have my head for not calling her sooner."

"Yes, you're probably right. Go home, do what you need to do. I'll be here when you come back."

" Ok, see you later. Sleep well."

"I love you Rick."

I love you too, You did good." With that he exited the room and left the hospital reluctantly.

**A/N: Hope you like it. It's 2:45 AM, but this little idea was keeping me up so I had to write. Please review. **

**Sorry for any really bad inaccuracies. I've never had a baby before so I can't begin to fathom what it really feels like. I am truly just guessing. I may add another chapter, but I haven't decided yet. **


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